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Soundcore
soundcore.com › home › blog center › headphones blog › how do bone conducting headphones work?
How Do Bone Conducting Headphones Work? (Explained)
August 27, 2024 - Bone-conduction headphones transmit sound waves through the cheekbones directly through the inner ear. Unlike traditional headphones and in-ear earbuds, it bypasses the outer and middle ear when delivering sounds.
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Shokz
uk.shokz.com › blogs › news › how-does-bone-conduction-headphones-work
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work? - Shokz UK
In a similar way to Beethoven and his conductor's baton. Shokz bone conduction headphones use vibrations to transmit sound directly to your inner ear through the bones located in your upper cheek and jaw.
Discussions

Bone conduction is just bullshit
Aren't bone conduction headphones aimed at like runners and people who want to have their ears open for spatial awareness in public? How is it bullshit if they still provide that benefit? More on reddit.com
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May 3, 2023
ELI5 How does bone conduction headphones work?
Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: ELI5:Bone Conducting Headphones 4 comments ELI5:How do bone conduction headphones compare to air conduction headphones in terms of safety? 3 comments Has anyone used Bone Conduction Headphones? 12 comments Thoughts on "bone conduction" headphones? 12 comments Bone-conduction headphones for hard-of-hearing people? . ELI5: Do bone conduction headphones work on people that are deaf? 3 comments Bone conducting headphones 11 comments More on reddit.com
🌐 r/explainlikeimfive
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December 28, 2017
some thoughs about bone conduction headphones
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October 2, 2021
any experience with bone conduction?

I have used an aftershokz air for a couple of years now, sound quality for music is serviceable but that's it and that's OK because they are not meant for that. Now, if you are going to use them for podcasts and/or audiobooks they are fine.

More on reddit.com
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Philips
philips.co.uk › c-e › so › sound-hub › what-are-bone-conduction-headphones
What are bone-conduction headphones? | Philips
September 27, 2022 - Soundwaves reach the eardrum first, and they make it move. Those movements start vibrations in the auditory ossicles—and then you get the whole cochlear fluid/nerve endings thing happening, as described above. But you don’t have to make your eardrum move to hear something. There are other ways to make the bones in your inner ear vibrate—and that’s how bone-conduction headphones work.
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Salusu Health
salusuhealth.com › news › 2018 › 08 › how-do-bone-conduction-headphones-work.html
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work?
August 23, 2018 - By biting his composer’s wand and pressing it against his piano, he could transmit the audio waves into physical vibrations. In this manner, he could “hear” and work on his famous works. Unlike traditional headphones, bone conduction headphones sit on the outside of the ear.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/headphones › bone conduction is just bullshit
r/headphones on Reddit: Bone conduction is just bullshit
May 3, 2023 -

So I have a late model Shokz and can tell you from experience: this "technology" is just hype and bullshit. It's just a speaker placed next to your ear, that's all. At best, what's left to be conducted through your skin and bones is just residual bass, maybe less than 5%. Plugged my ears with proper earplugs and played music in the Shokz. Nearly NOTHING is left, and I assure most of it is just normal sound still leaking through the earplugs, and appropriately muffed.

I don't know how no one ever tested or debunked this thing yet. I was first made aware of this possibility when I visited a Best Buy and tried on these eyeglasses (mind me, from Bose!) with tiny speakers attached. So, they don't purport to be "bone conduction" phones. They sound pretty much the same as my Shokz, it's the same experience.

Coming to think of it, how could it possibly work in the first place? Good sound is a lot more complex than just shockwaves.

My 2 cents.

Edit: I'm not saying the end result is unsatisfactory. I'm just saying it's not conducting any significant amount of sound through the puported means (bone conduction) and that's their entire claim to fame. Bone conduction. It's the deceitful nature of the purported technology itself that bothers me. Other than that, these headphones are good for the intended result - leave your ears free to outside noise.

Edit 2. Still not convinced? I have my Shokz on me now. If I slightly remove its contact with the skin, it should go silent, right? Well, it doesn't. Now try that with the screwdriver thing and see if you can hear anything.

Edit 3. Hey, look: all these "bone conduction" headphones have clear sound openings conveniently directed to you ear canals!

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Raycon
rayconglobal.com › products › bone-conduction-headphones
Bone Conduction Headphones – Raycon
With up to 13 nonstop hours of ... all day without interruption. ... They use vibrations to send sound directly through your bones to your inner ear, bypassing the eardrum....
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Hearview
hearview.ai › blogs › news › bone-conduction-headphones-for-deaf-how-they-work-and-who-can-benefit
Bone Conduction Headphones for Deaf: How They Work and Who Can Benefit – Hearview
October 27, 2025 - Since bone conduction needs a healthy and working cochlea to process sound vibrations, regular consumer bone conduction headphones usually aren't the main solution for people with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss. The technology can deliver the vibration, but if the inner ear can't process it, no sound will be heard. For mild cases, they may help some, but they can't "fix" or bypass a damaged inner ear the way a traditional hearing aid can make sound louder to overcome the problem.
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Audiophile ON
audiophileon.com › news › bone-conduction-headphones
What are bone conduction headphones and how do they work? — Audiophile ON
November 3, 2025 - The Openrun Pro model, which I linked to below, is actually the bone-conduction headphones that I personally use. I ride road bikes and run mid-distances in the range of 5-10km. As someone who writes for a website about headphones, you can imagine I get all kinds of models for free, so I think it speaks volumes to how good they are that I paid my own money for these. They just work; they are lower profile, stay locked in place better, and sound better than everything else I have tried.
Find elsewhere
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Professionalhearingkc
professionalhearingkc.com › blog › bone-conduction-headphones
Bone Conduction Headphones: Professional Hearing Center: Audiologists
Bone conduction headphones are especially useful for people who have hearing loss due to an absence of an ear canal, issues with the eardrum, or other middle/outer ear pathology because they bypass the middle and outer ear portions of the hearing pathway.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Bone_conduction
Bone conduction - Wikipedia
October 28, 2025 - Because bone conduction headphones transmit sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull, leaving the ears free to pick up sound from the environment, users can listen to audio while maintaining greater situational awareness than with acoustic in- or over-ear headphones.
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SoundGuys
soundguys.com › home › earbuds & headphones › bone conduction headphones: gimmick or godsend?
Bone conduction headphones: Gimmick or godsend? - SoundGuys
June 6, 2025 - Unfortunately, no: bone conduction may bypass your outer ear, but needs the inner ear bones, cochlea, and your nerve to work in order for you to hear audio. An acoustic neuroma is a tumor on the nerve bundle that connects these organs to your brain, and if that nerve is severed, there’s no longer a link from the ear to your brain. Bone conduction can’t bypass this. ... The Aftershokz Aeropex are the best bone conduction headphones: they use Bluetooth 5.0 technology, has an eight-hour battery life, and are IP67-rated.
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Nank(Naenka)
naenka.com › home › nank blogs › nank blogs
How Bone Conduction Headphones Work?
August 28, 2024 - Bone conduction headphones do work, such as transmitting sound through the vibrations of the skull during outdoor activities, they allow users to enjoy music or talk on the phone while still being aware of their surroundings, making them a safe ...
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Run United
rununited.com › home › running sports blog › bone conduction headphones & open-ear earbuds: worth it?
Bone Conduction Headphones & Open-Ear Earbuds: Worth It? - Run United
August 21, 2025 - Let me break down exactly how these ... waves through the air toward your eardrums, bone conduction uses transducers that create vibrations against your temporal bones....
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Bose
bose.com › home › story listing › air conduction vs. bone conduction: the ultimate guide
Air Conduction vs. Bone Conduction: Open-ear Audio Guide | Bose
April 22, 2024 - Bone conduction headphones act as your eardrums, translating sound waves into vibrations and delivering them to your middle ear. The differences between air and bone conduction for audio · The significant difference when looking at air conduction ...
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Soundly
soundly.com › blog › shokz-bone-conduction-headphones-review
An Audiologist's Review of Shokz Bone Conduction Headphones
While bone-conduction headphones may not have the same sound quality as noise-canceling headphones or other top-tier models, they still deliver an impressive listening experience. The sound quality is clear, and you'll notice ambient sounds as you listen. When making phone calls, they work nearly as well as traditional headphones.
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RTINGS.com
rtings.com › home › headphones › guide
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work? - RTINGS.com
August 27, 2025 - How do bone conduction headphones work? Learn how this tech lets you enjoy music while staying aware of your surroundings.
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Bose
bose.co.uk › en_gb › better_with_bose › what-are-open-ear-headphones.html
What Are Open-Ear Headphones & How Do They Work?
The vibrations travel through your bone into the inner ear, where you then “hear” them as audio. The main benefit of bone conduction headphones is that they don’t block your ear at all – you’ll hear everything going on around you, ...
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HowStuffWorks
electronics.howstuffworks.com › tech › gadgets › audio and music gadgets
How Bone-conducting Headphones Work | HowStuffWorks
September 5, 2024 - His device attached just behind the user's outer ears, so that it transmitted sound through the mastoid bones of the user's skull. Bottesch also came up with the idea of selectively amplifying certain frequencies of sound that don't transmit ...
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ARTZT Neuro
artztneuro.com › home › neuro blog – knowledge about neuroathletics › neuro blog – knowledge about neuroathletics
How bone conduction headphones work | ARTZT neuro
December 4, 2024 - There they set a fluid and tiny hairs in motion. This ensures that you can hear the sound - without using your eardrum . A thin neckband made of titanium ensures that the headphones are held securely.
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What Hi-Fi?
whathifi.com › headphones
Bone conduction headphones: Everything you need to know | What Hi-Fi?
December 20, 2023 - So while these headphones have ... ... Bone conduction works, as the name suggests, by transmitting audio signals as vibrations but directly to the inner ear via the bones....